Channeling Coco Chanel (for Less)

Pioneered by my fashion idol, the combination of tweed and pearls has such a simple elegance to it. I love the top half of this outfit, but oh, drat these cheap H&M; pants! I wear them a lot because the rich color is so versatile, but every time I see photos I want to burn them and get a quality pair.A while back, Anna of UniQUEEN (based in Toronto) contacted me to try some of her petite-friendly Korean clothing. At the time I declined, but offered up some feedback. Although Korean casualwear is trendy and cute, I mentioned that I’d love to see more classy, elegant pieces available as well. I feel like petite women can currently find affordable and well-fitting casualwear from a variety of retailers (ASOS, Gap, H&M;, F21, LOFT, Urban Outfitters, etc…). It’s with work clothes, blazers, and coats when the options get limited. What do you guys think?

Last month, this gorgeous piece in her store caught my eye. I’ve been hunting for a collarless tweed jacket to fulfill my Coco styling dreams, and this one fit the bill. It comes in a feminine baby pink/blue as well as a chic navy blue/teal combo – tough decision. I’ve received so many compliments on this jacket, and wanted to do a full review for you guys.

Style: Classic and collarless, with four functional pockets and fringe trim. I think the fringe on the sleeve opening is a little too much, and hid it just by cuffing it. Pink is fully lined in a satiny material, and blue is heavier in weight and lined in a quilted material. UPDATE: Both jackets are now lined in a heavier quilted material, making them more like warm jackets than blazers.

Sizing: Comes in two sizes, S and M. The measurements provided online for a sz S are 14.5″ shoulders (14″ before the padding), 17.4″ bust, 18.5″ sleeve length, and 20″ total length. Looking at the bust measurement, I was doubtful about how this would fit. Upon receiving the jacket, however, I saw that the front naturally overlaps a bit. When lying completely flat with the front overlapped, the bust of my sz S measures 16.5″ across, with 20″ long sleeves. Per Anna, the blue/teal has 2″ longer sleeves.Fit: Size S fits me in the shoulders (most important), is slightly loose in the torso, and the front flaps overlap. Since it’s an open-style jacket, I don’t mind some torso room. One alteration I’m contemplating is shortening the hem an inch or two, to hit above my hips. At 4’11” and three-quarters (Nick just measured and wouldn’t give me the last quarter), I am on the shorter side, even amongst petites. The proper garment length is key to maintaining my proportions.

Note: I like how on the bottom of every item listing, UniQUEEN provides the model’s measurements for reference. The girl modeling this jacket is 160cm / 5’3″ tall, with a 25″ waist.

Quality / Value: I am impressed by the jacket workmanship and the tweed blend. No material label (not required in Asia), so I assume it’s mostly polyester. *Updated price (as of 2012) for new colors is $117.81. The price is not cheap, but my Zara juniors tweed jacket retails for the same, and the UniQUEEN one is noticeably better quality.

Payment/Shipping: Ships to US, Canada, and the UK. PayPal accepted. There is a promo going on until 11/27 for free shipping, however it is uninsured and un-tracked for the US. If you live in Toronto, you can actually opt to do local pickup and get a 15% discount instead! I believe returns are for credit only, unless the item is defective. Since this is a new store, please email info@myuniqueen.com if you have any issues or questions. I had a long list of them and Anna was so responsive – that’s why I love small business owners.Last weekend, my dear friend Vi -in the sunny yellow dress- was back from Texas. We stuffed ourselves silly with brunch on Newbury St. Shortly after (probably while Nick and I were aimlessly wandering H&M;), her then-boyfriend got down on one knee and proposed to her in the Boston Public Garden. I still cannot believe I missed it! I remember the fruitless nights as Vi’s wing-woman out in Boston, so I can smell a “keeper” from afar : ) They were friends for over 10 years before realizing that each other was the one. I am so very happy for them, and can’t wait to attend my first ginormous Vietnamese wedding in Texas!

Wearing: Malang jacket, old True Religion kids jeans sz 12 (tip – do not wear kids jeans with a loud snap button to a large meal), boots from eBay.

86 thoughts on “Channeling Coco Chanel (for Less)”

That jacket is like a dream comes true, GORGEOUS! That is a really great find Jean, I can't imagine paying for a real one (unless I won a lottery which would never happen). I love how you style it both way with mustard pants and jeans. I have to check them out, thank you for sharing. How romantic is your friend's story! It sounds like stuff like that only happens in the movie.

I love this look! I wouldn't have thought to pair the deep mustard with the pastel jacket, but I love the combination. Regarding alterations, I think the length on the jacket looks great with a higher waist-ed bottom like the one here, but I can see how you might prefer a shorter hem with a skirt or lower-rise pants. Either way, it looks great on you.

Stunning jacket on you! It's really hard to find the right tweed Coco jacket – some are too frilly, some have bad colors (as you pointed out in your previous post) and some are just "off" – this is really nice and I like how you cuffed the sleeves. Great pick!

lol so hard on the kid's jeans tip. The jacket looks so beautiful on you, Jean. I'm glad you found it! This reminds me that I need to wear my BR one more often. (BTW, I am totally copying your outfit here!!!) The pants don't look as bad in person as in pictures, I don't know if you have noticed. The pants have a metallic gloss to it, and cameras pick up the creases like there is no tomorrow.

Anonymous
November 10, 2011 at 10:18 pm

Aww, congrats to your friend! That jacket is so elegant, but I love how you decided to dress it down. I personally love how your H&M; pants fit you. These days fitted bottoms are EVERYWHERE and it's refreshing to see a casual fit. Sometimes I'll see a girl (usually with pin straight hair) whose got every single detail perfectly in place, and she looks good but "too perfect". Know what I mean? Your H&M; pants is such a better contrast to that sort of look if that makes any sense..

oohhh i have a similar cream tweed jacket from Victoria Secret (old old stuff from years ago) and i also get lots of compliments when wearing it. the sleeves are a bit too long though so they always get super dirty. so much $$ to dry clean sigh. this jacket definitely looks expensive and i think the proportions look good on you! but maybe my fit standard is lower than yours hehe….

btw, your friend Vi is a friend of my friend. i actually saw a pix of you and her on her fb awhile back (the one at the pumpkin patch) but didn't say anything cuz i didn't really interact with you back then yet haha. small world 🙂

Congratulations to your friend and her fiance! Is she the one that moved to Houston? Congrats to the expectant parents as well! (I am assuming that's a baby in there, not a food baby…I sincerely apologize if it is the latter >_>)

Lmao at the kids jeans tip.

Anonymous
November 10, 2011 at 10:35 pm

I prefer your tweed Ann Taylor better, but I love lapels. Are you also keeping the blue one? The pink tweed pattern looks so much better, but I'll probably like the blue as well when you style that one. Will taking up the hem be costly bec of the fringe? I would suggest removing the top two pockets if you do get alterations as the jacket has a lot of fringe going on. Otherwise, great find!

Please, please share with us how you make your hair look so great! I'm Asian as well with healthy, smooth and shiny black hair — but always flat! I've tried styling products to increase the volume but ended up looking stiff or greasy… Thank you!

Congrats to your friend Vi and her fiance! I giggled when Thao and Sunshine both mentioned they also know her. What a small world indeed!

Forget about my F21 find, now this tweed is a keeper for sure! Love the closeup shot with all the gorgeous detailing and pastel colors, but heart your casual styling on the jacket even more. I think the slightly long length works quite well in this instance, but I can see how a few inches shorter would look better with a dressier outfit. It's a tough decision Jean… maybe shorten the pink one but keep the blue as is? That is, if you have the blue one as well.

I laughed when I read your kid jeans tip. 🙂Lovely jacket, I'm so glad to hear about a Korean retailer that ships to the US! I've been envying some of the blazers that my friends bought when they visited Seoul.

And congratulations to your friend. (When is Nick going to pop the question?;)

lol, r u really 4'11 and 3/4"…i'm not much taller than you. i need to remeasure myself. good news is that you don't look it. i'd love to see the blue on you. i think that blue jacket would be totally cute with skinny black jeans or liquid leggings. congrats to your friend. everyone is getting married of pregnant these days….will u and nick be next?!? 😛

Anonymous
November 11, 2011 at 12:38 am

Jean- just want to say that I appreciate your thought when it comes to c/o's and that you don't just automatically feature everyone who decides to sponsor you. Instead, you give feedback both to your readers and the companies themselves, allowing them to improve their products. You always stay true to your vision for your blog and I can always trust you to provide excellent, unbiased, and discerning content, not just photos of outfits (which are great too!).

Im looking for a tweed jacked ! They never fit my shoulders and they make me feel bulky! I went to Zara, see if they had some thinner ones and I'm still searching. I live in mexico so i'll keep you posted! 😀 hugs thank you so much for this review!

Hi Jean! What a beautiful jacket! Your photographs and modeling are so awesome. I just started following your blog and I must say, I am smitten! I really enjoy reading your reviews and look forward to seeing what's new each day. Thanks for all your wonderful fashion advice!

Beautiful tweed jacket! I've been looking for an affordable one as well, but the only one I've been able to find is that H&M; Divided one you posted about recently – and that definitely doesn't do it for me!